Commodity-cabinet.



J. H. BQYE.

\COMMODi I'Y CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1. 1918.

1,294,76 1'. Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEEI 1.

J. H. BOYE.

COMMODITY CABINET.

APPLICATION man JULY 1. 19I8.

3L,894%,?6l. Patented Feb.18,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.FEQYE, l' CHICAGO, ILLITEZOIS, ASSKGNQR TO JAMES H. BOYE MANUFACTURENGif, Q? QHICAGG, XLLINOIS A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

COIivHiEQDYEY-CABINET.

j jgglg 'j/t'g Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Fish. 18, 3319.

Application. filed July 1, 1918. Serial No. 242,851.

2' uZZ whom it may, concern:

t is. it i-fn \\'1i that I JAMES Bonn, aciti zen oi the l n'sivd iltates. residing at Chizo in the. county of (oi ii; and State of a liuuis. have invented certain new and use,-

int i prm'emenls in lommodity-Cabinets, at which the following is aSl'iGClfiCllijlOll.

lhi" invention relates to commodity cahinets {or use by l'llfl'ClllUll'Sand dealers in 3A."; storing varim! all articles of merchandid'- in amanner to enable them to be readily accessible to the merchant in makingsales and to t x 1 contusion and loss of time in the fiadiag'g of smallarticles. ii hile the, invention has been more paltieularly des tned to'hicilitate the. retail handling of st-ivi ma hine accessories. such asneedles, boh shuttles. and the like. yet it readily adaptable withoutchance of structural 2o principle. to the hant'iling oi supplies.accessories and small parts or? other machines, and hence in itsl'a'oader aspects is not limited to a coumiodii): cabinet For sowingmachine arts and accessories. 7

ac main and general object o'l this iuvolition is to improve commoditycabinets of this pgeucral type more particularly in the dire tion ofcal-1. sing or Wide-nine; the. field or r-icope ot' useiulness of suchdevices as a means ol enaliiling ll owners of individual machines tolocate, the source ()T S0llf(1c& of iiillfilllfilCi'llli of suchmachines so that the rm-rer-t renewal or repair parts may he readilyohtaincil either from-the cabin t itseli from the manufacturer.

H is well known that in this country ther are many hundreds ofdifferently named sewing: inncliins in general use. commonly lmowi': as.ileo. .l'D-ilfilllllOS, and each 7 an adapted to employ one or anotherof a quite limited nnmber of standard sewing-mwchine needles hoh. 1.1.shuttles, etc; and usually the nami= of the machine gives noiiu'l'ication oi the source of manufacture oi these parts.

. there are comparati ely 't'cw man- 4 wing machines. yet many ads ofsuch machines are sold each required by the buyer. this conditioncausing annoyance and delay to both. the purchaser and the, vendor. Anobject of the invention, therefore. isto provide association with the.cabinet improved iuctrumentalities by which the needle 01 otheraccessory o1 any.

in and obtain from the cabinet, a needle carried by the cabinet thatwill fit that particular machine.

Another obj ect of the invention is to provide instrimicntalitics bywhich the source of manufacture of parts or'accessories not commonlycarried in stock and sold by the retail dealer from the cabinet itselfmay be readily ascertained as a preliminary to orderingsuch parts fromthe factory. This feature of the invention. will hereinafter appear indetail, is based on the fact that, the prcsscr feet of all of the.limited number of machines issuing from different factories presentslight dillerences in size and shape.

Another object is to provide, in a. cabinet adapted to vcnd hand sewingneedles, an instrumentality whereby the location of different sizes ofsuch needles, both straight and assorted. may be readily determined andmistakes and confusion resulting from the wrong selection or replacementof the needle packages in the carrier of the cabinet avoided.

Another object is to provide an improved construction of commoditycarrier and casing: therefor which shall facilitate the withdrawal andreplacement of the goods by affording a more convenient access to thelattar. as compared with commodity cabinets of thisgeneral typeheretofore known.

Still other useful purposes served by the invention Will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from the following" detailed description of onepractical and preferred embodimout thereof which I have illustrated inthe accompanying drawings; it being borne 'in mind that the device ofthe in vention is designed to serve not only as a storing and vendingcwbinet'to contain in roperorder, and to facilitate the dispensmg of,small articles suchas sewing machine of other machine pee the differentin same sources of n pensing largely a large illustrated lished anddistrs In the accon Figure 11s a net;

the lower side of Figil;

Fig. 3 is ahoriz ont'al or plan section just below the plane of the topwall of the casing;

Fig. 4 is a detail. vertical section substantially on the line H of Fig.1;

F1g. 5 is a fragmentary Vertical section on the line 5---5 of Fig. 3,showing the manner of hinging the commodity receptacles on the carrierframe; and

Fig. 6 is .a detail top plan view of the ac tuating arm of the carrier,with which are 11 of the casing; the hub 19 being remov-. ,ablysupported imposition on the spindle associated the locking pawl and apair of pointers that cooperate with arcuate indexes on the top wall ofthe casing.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates the top wall andill the sidewall of a substantially circular sheet metal casing, the same beingformed with four integral hollow legs 12 by which the cabinet rests on acounter or table. In the front portion of the side wall. 11, midwaybetween adjacent legs 12, is formed a rectangular opening 13, the topand sides of which are preferably equipped with a stiffening borderframe 14-. Secured to the upper side of the top wall 10 and extendingdiametrically from front to rear thereof is a stiffening plate or strip15 formed with a widened substantially circular central portion 15, asclearly shown in Fig. 1. v

Strongly secured to and centrally of". the under side of the top wall 10of the casing, as by screw-bolts 16, is a circular plate 17 (Fig. 4)which serves as an auxiliary stiffener to the top Wall 10 and also as abaseplate for a depending spindle or post 18 integral therewith orrigidly secured thereto. Mounted to turn on this spindle 18 is the hub19 of a carrier frame comprising four radiallyextending arms or spokes20 (Fig. 3) that reach nearly to the circular side wall by a r t 21 andlock-nut 22'.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, as viewed from On the outer ends of thearms 20 are mounted vertical posts 23, on which are hinged fourgenerally sector-shaped panlike commodity receptacles or holdersDescribing. these receptacles, which are all alike, each has a solidbottom wall 24 (Fig. 5) an outer or front wall having the same curvatureas, and lying just inside, the side wall 11 of the casing, anda somewhatlower curved inner or rear wall 26. This rear wall 26 is providedcentrally thereof with a vertical indentation or notch 27 for a purposehereinafter disclosed. A certain inner portion of the receptacle 1Spartitioned to form rectangular containers 28 adapted to hold packagesof straight and assorted sizes of ordinary hand sewing needles, andacross the remaining space of the receptacle, at a suitable distanceabove and parallel with the bottom 24., extends a plate 29 that isformed with numerous circular apertures or holes 30 and 31 of differentsizes to receive and support in upright position the circular tube-likeboxes in which sewing machine needles, bobbins, shuttles. and like smallparts are usually packaged for the trade. It ,will be observed that eachcomplete receptacle is symmetrically constructed with reference to itsmedian radial line or axis, so that each rece tacle is in effect adouble-compartment a air, each compartment being designed to hold thegoods of a single manufacturer. 7

Each twin compartment receptacle is pivoted on the hinge post or pin 23in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 5, wherein it will be observed thatthe post 23 passes through a hole in the bottom wall 24 and also througha hole in a hinge-lug 32 that extends inwardly of the upper end of avertical strip 33 that is secured to the outer side of the wall of thereceptacle, centrally of said wall. This strip is also formed withoutwardly offset vertical lips or flanges 34 that, with similar lips orflanges formed on vertical strips 36 secured to the ends of the wall 25,constitute slideways to removably support a card 37 on which is printedthe name of a manufacturer and an alpha; hetical or other symbol bywhich. said manw facturer is identified on certain indexes hereinafterdescribed This card or chart also preferably has printed thereon cuts ofvarious small machine parts not carried by the cabinet, with theirfactory numbers, pertaining to the particular manufactory identified bythe card or chart. On the outer edge of the strip 36 is formed afinger-hold 38 by which that half of the receptacle, containing one ofthe twin compartments, can be swung outwardly through the opening 13',as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. On the lower edge of the frontwall. 25 are a pair of depending lugs 39, one on each sin of the pivotpost 23. When one half r stiffeningplate 15 a segmentplate 50 Thaimovement of the receptacle at its cor 116 receptacle is drawn out, the

of course swings inwar .ly, and

strikes the carrier arzn 20, thus stop to limit the outward swinging; r'c opening 13 to arrest the inward Si ing normal position. Attached tothe hub i the carrier are four radially extendir clawtic arins l1terminating in rounded 42 that normally engage the notche center thereceptacles within the casing so that the carrier may turn in thelatter. When any individual receptacle swiir outwardly or inwardly ofthe caeiaa, arm 41 bends and the head 42 elid the 'Wall 26, acting assort of drag to steady the movement.

Referring next to the means for z-ictnaiing the carrier frame so as tobring any one of the eight compartments opposite the caeingz opening, 43designates va pinion the upper end of the carrier hub 19 (Fig, i).Withthis pinion meshes a gear 2. fast on the lower end of a short shafti; jonrnaled in the top wall 1?) and ik ening; plate l5"- Fast an shaftjaat an!) u the plate15. ie a radial actuating arm i +1 and ii) on the.free end oi which 1&4 an upstanding finger-hold i?" (hi the end of arm48 is also formed a forward y directed pointer finger 48. and in rema"?the latter is an upwardly or fset reai'n'zudl v directed pointer finger49-. Secured to th overlies all except the free end and pointer: ofthearm 46. v This segment-plate is former with Shoulders or stops 51(Fig. 1) that limit the swinging movements of the arm 4-6 and hetweensaid stops with a ee ie: oi, equally spaced notchee 52 in its rai: ,dedge. Thesenotches are engaged by a spring pressed manually retractablelocking dog or pawl 53 mounted on the finger-holcl 47. The lockingnotches correspond in number with the commodity cmnpartmente of thecarrier (eight being here Shown). The name cards or charts 37 of theeight coinpartments bear the identifying symbols to H inclusive; and onthe stiffening plate 1!", opposite the free edge of the segment plate50, is a corresponding index consisting of the letters A to H inclusivegr-oupa-al in arcuate form opposite the locking netches 52. When theactuating arm is swung to carry the pointer 48 opposite any letter ofthis index, the correspondingly identified carrier compartment isbrought opposite the opening 13 and may be swung on its individual hingeoutwardly through the latter I to alford easy access to the goods whichit contains. At the same time, this compartment is held in deliveryposition at the in, great machine way. It may sometimes happen, however,that a needle or other part pertainin to a machine not listed inthe namein ex is calied for. In the case of needles, this can be located ineither of two ways. (he the upper face of segmentplate 50 is a needlechmrt consisting of radially arranged exact size prints 56, 57, 58 and59 of the outer (point and eye portions) of all the diiferent sewingmachine needles made by the dilferent makers. Since substantially thesame needle is sometimes used by two or more maker's, this list issmaller than the list of makers. The shaft extends upwardly through thesegment-plate (Fig. 4), and fast on its upper end is a radial arm 60,the upper surface of which is channeled to support the shank of a sewingmachine needle laid therein. If the customer can produce a sample needlethat fits her machine, this needle is laid on the arm 60 with its shankend abutting against the inner end of the channel, and the arm 26 isturned until the overhanging point and eye portion of the needle exactlyregisters witltl and matches one of the chart prints 56, 5 1'. 58 or 59.This brings to the opening 13 a carrier receptacle containing needlesidentical. with the sample.

But it might happen that the owner of a machine not listed on the nameindex (because the machine under that particular name had beendiscontinued on the market or for any other reason) had no sampleneedle; or it might be that she desired to order from. the factory somemachine part, not carried in stock by the cabinet. My inven: tion takescare of these situations also. Practically all of the different makes ofsewing machines that go into the hands of domestic consumers havedetachable presser feet wit 1 bifurcated or forked shanks; but it issomewhat curious fact that all of these forln-ad shanks differ inspecific size and shape. My invention utilizes this structuralpeculiarity in the "following way: In the top surface of thestifiening-plate 15 I form a series of die impressions 61., 62, 63, 64,65, 66, 57' and 68 of the forked shanks of all the difi'erent makes ofpresser-feet, these im-- pressions being grouped in arcuate form outsideof and opposite the alphabetical indexA to H inclusive, in the mannerclearly shown in Fig. 1. The customer brings',to the store theresser-foot of her machine. The dealer applies it to the various dies,andfinds, for example, that it fits the die '64 which is opposite the Dsymbol of the compartment-identifying index. The pointer 48 is swung tothatpoint, and the pressei---foot is thus identified as belonging to aDavis make of machine. Hence, a neetile or other part carried by thecabinet that may be desired is readily obtained from the D compartmentof the commodity carrier. Or if some one of the small parts shown andidentified by its number on the pictorial chart 37 of the D compartmentand not contained in the cabinet is desired, the dealer knows that theDavis factory is the manufacturing source of that particular part, andno time need be lost in hunting through a lot of illustrated makerscatalogues to ascertain where to send an order.

t will thus be seen that my present invention provides notonly a handyandconvenient cabinet for storing in order and facilitating the vendingof small machine parts and accessories, but it also has the character ofa ractically complete and univelsal cyclope ia by means of which themanufacturing source of any customers machine may be quicklyascertained. In its structural details and relative arrangement of partsthe device may, of course, be considerably varied from the embodiment ofthe invention herein shown and described, without departing from theprinciples involved or sacrifiein any of the utilities and advantagesobtained. Hence, I reserve all such'changes, modifications andequivalents as fall within the spirit and purview of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In a. commodity cabinet, the combination of a casing having top andside walls, a spindle rigidly secured to and depending from the underside of said top wall, a can rier having a hub journaled on saidspindle, a pinion fast on said hub, a shaft jour naled in said top wall,a gear fast on said shaft and meshing with said pinion, and an operatingarm fast on said shaft above said top wall.

2. In a commodity cabinet, the combination of a casing having a side.wall formed withan opening, a carrier frame pivotally mounted in saidcasing and having a lu-' rality of radial arms, and a correspon ingplurality of pan-like receptacles pivoted cenreceptacles having curvedand centrally.

notched inner sides pivoted centrally of their outer sides on the outerends of said arms,

either half of each receptacle when brought opposite said opening beingadapted to 12s limiting the swinging movements of said it receptacles,and yieldable elastic detents rlor swm outwardly,therethrough, means formally engaging the notches of the inner SldCS of said receptacles tocenter the Ema in said caslng.

4. In. a commodity cabinet, the combination of a casing having top andside Walls and an opening, a carrier having a pinrality of commodityreceptacles and mounted to oscillatein said casing of said receptaclesopposite said openi g, a pinion on said carrier, a gear journaled insaid casing and meshing with said pinion, a radial actuating arm forsaid gear, an arcshaped carrier-receptacle index on the top Wall of saidcasing concentric with the axis of said gear, and a pointer on saidactuating arm cooperating vvith said index.

5. In a commodity cabinet, tiie combination of a casing having top andside Walls and an opening, a carrier having a plurality of commodityreceptacles and mounted to turn in said casing to bring any of saidreceptacles opposite said opening, means, includinga swinging arm, forturning said carrier, an arc-shaped carrier-receptacle index on the topwall of said casing concentric with the pivotal axis of said swingingarm, a pointer on said. arm coiiperating with said index, a locking pawlcarried by said arm, and a segment plate coiiperating With pawl.

6. In a commodity cabinet, the combination of a casing having top andside Walls and an opening, a carrier having a plurality of commodityreceptacles and mounted to oscillate in said casing to bring any of saidreceptacles opposite said openings pinion on said carrier, a gearjournaled in the top wall of said casing and meshing with said pinion, aradial actuating arm for said gear, an arc-shaped carrier-receptacleindex on the top Wall of said casing concentric with the axis of saidgear, a pointer on said arm cooperating with said index, a lockingpawlcarried by. said arm, and a segment-plate having marginal notchescooperating with said pawl to lock said arm with its pointer oppositeany one of the index characters.

'1 In a sewing-machine commodity calcinet, the combination of a casinghaving-top and side walls and an opening, 'a carrier having a pluralityof needle receptacles and mounted to turn in said casing to bring any ofsaid receptacles opposite said opening, means, including a verticalshaft journaled.

for turning in the top Wall of the casing, said carrier, a needle chartin arcuate form to bring any i on said top Wall and concentric with theaXis of said shaft, and a radial arm mounted on said shaft and formedwith a needlesupporting groove in its upper side.

8. In a sewing machine commodity cabinet, the combination of a casinghaving top and side walls and an opening, a-carrier having a plurality.(if parts receptacles and mounted to'turn in said casing to bring any ofsaid receptacles opposite said opening, means, including a manuallyoperated arm, for turning said carrier, a die-plate on the top Wall ofsaid casing containing a row of resser-foot impressions representingrespectively as many different makes of machines, and a pointe carriedby said arm and cooperating with said impressions.

9. In a sewing machine commodity cabinet, the combination of a casinghaving top and side Walls and an opening, a carrier having a pluralityof parts receptacles and mounted to turn in said casing to bring any ofsaid receptacles opposite said opening, means, including a swingingarnnfor turning said carrier, a die-plate on the top Wall of said casingcontaining an arcuate row of presser-foot impressions concentric withthe pivotal axis of said arm and representing respectively as manydifferent makes of machines, and a pointer on the free end of said armcooperating with said impressions.

10. In a sewing machine commodity cabinet, the combination of a casinghaving top and side Walls and an opening', a carrier having a pluralityof parts receptacles and mounted to turn in said casing to bring any ofsaid receptacles opposite said opening, means, includin a manuallyoperated arm, for turnin sai carrier, a die-plate on the top wall 0?said casing containing a row of presser-"foot impressions representingrespectively as many different makes of machines, a 'ointer carried bysaid arm and movable w th the latter along said row of impressions, anda chart mounted on each of said receptacles and visible through saidopening when the receptacle is brought opposite the latter, said chartdisclosing the manufacturing source of the machine to which anypresser-foot indicated by said pointer and die-index belongs.

JAMES H..'BOYE.

